Last night I signed up for Apple’s .Mac free trial period, having made the decision to migrate completely over to OSX this year. I’ve been interested in iCal and iDisk for a while, wondering how they worked—I like the idea of being able to publish a calendar online to keep track of scheduling between Jen and myself, and also having a secure external file server for client work. My first impressions are a lot like my impressions of OSX—powerful, but not friendly. The metaphor for .Mac’s home is poor at best; I signed up with my own email address but I haven’t gotten a confirmation or any other instructions; I don’t know if I have a ‘home page’ or not, and I don’t know how to find my published calendar.
I know that I haven’t delved deeply enough into the service yet, but usually I can spend about a half hour in front of an application and figure out at least how it works, if not how to use it. Last night I spent about an hour trying to make sense of the .Mac site and metaphor and it still doesn’t make sense. I’ll report on my experience more in the future.
lakewood ave, 1.5
We are snowed in yet again. There’s about 4″ down on the ground right now, and the sky is that peculiar reddish-gray which accompanies snow in the city. The trees outside the window are draped with blankets, my neighbor is shoveling our walk and the street is free from traffic—the only sounds come from people quietly calling out to each other as they walk to and from the store. For a brief moment in time, the city is a peaceful place to be.
So if I buy a Jetta, as discussed yesterday, my insurance rates will rise by about $400 a year. If I buy a Forester, they will raise by $300 a year. I priced out the TDI Jetta against the regular 4-cylinder model, and it’s only about $15 cheaper, which is funny, because the diesel has a whopping 90 horsepower vs. the 115 for the base 4-cylinder gas model.
Assuming I drive about 16,500 miles a year (averaged from the last 3 years on the Taurus), if I was to believe the mileage ratings provided by Volkswagen and Subaru, here’s the breakdown on gasoline costs (estimated.)
| 20 mpg gas engine | 835 Gallons | X $1.50/gal | = $1252.50/yr. | + Ins. $224/yr. | = Gas/Ins. $220/mo. |
| 40 mpg diesel engine | 417 Gallons | X $1.40/gal | = $584.50/yr. | + Ins. $209/yr. | = Gas/Ins. $158/mo. |
Providing I could actually get an interest rate of 3.9%, the monthly payment estimate on a loan of $12,000 is around $236 for a five-year loan. A four year loan is $290. At 4.9, the prices increase by about $5 across the board.
I have the break from Ghostwriter, one of the RJD2 tunes on the album mentioned yesterday, going through my head today.
Wow. The memory I ordered yesterday from Crucial arrived, via free shipping, this afternoon. That’s good service.
I am totally jamming on a new CD recommended by Pitchfork Media, by Rjd2, called Dead Ringer. Very, very good stuff—the reviewer caught my attention with this summary: “The Private Press may have given us what DJ Shadow needed to give us, but Rjd2 gave us what we wanted.”
Christmas was a very enjoyable one this year. Lots of goodies given and received; lots of good cheer and quiet family time as well. You’ll notice I had my laptop with me over the break, and I took some time to re-organize my navigation on the left there.
Strange Offerings From Amazon.com Dept.:
“Customers who wear clothes also shop for: Clean Underwear from Amazon’s Target Store.”
I ordered 16MB of RAM for the Laserwriter this morning. I think, if I remember correctly, that the resolution increses as you add memory to the machine- we’ll find out when it gets here. I also read with interest that Apple has discontinued making the 15″ flat-panel iMac as of last october, and reports claim that they will discontinue manufacturing the 17″ model this summer. Strange. I was hoping that I could afford one of these iMacs this year (along with a pony, a rocketship, and a retirement fund) so it will be interesting to see what happens next…?
In other consumer news, I’m now actively looking for a replacement for the Tortoise. The early front-runners, based on market research done through Consumer Reports, are the VW Jetta and the Subaru Forester. Right now, due to availability and price considerations, the VW is ahead by a nose. But the desire is leaning towards the Forester. Does anybody have good/bad stories about either? I’d love to hear them.
I have a few thoughts about Trading Spaces, the show on TLC about neighbors who trade houses and redecorate a room simultaneously with the help of bitchy interior designers.
Anyone who signs up for this show is a moron. Every decent piece of furniture you own will be destroyed. Anything you specifically request will be ignored and anything you detest will be exploited. Your room will be painted in some single hideous color.
This show is a great barometer for how your neighbors feel about you. They will ask you to appear on the show because they hate you and they want to help destroy your house.
There is life after college for annoying sorority girls. They become hosts/designers on shows like this.